Deltora
}} |Currency = Gold and silver coins|name = Deltora|alias = The Land of Dragons (formerly)}} Deltora, previously known as the Land of Dragons, was an island, now a conjoined country inhabited by dragons and seven tribes and is one of the largest islands in the world of Deltora. To its north it is bordered and separated by the Barrier Mountains, where beyond that is the Shadowlands, previously Pirra. Deltora's south, east and west are all bordered by beach shores, where in the south, is the Ocean of the South, in the east, is the Sea of Serpents, to the west, is the Silver Sea and beneath its surface is the secret sea, which is home to the Caverns. Deltora is home to a wide variety of people, fauna and flora and is divided into seven territories, each home to a gem, tribe and dragon species. The land is also a place of magic in various forms, some of which are regarded as natural by Deltorans, others more mysterious. Deltora is ruled by a monarchy which operates under the rule of a king or queen. Spanning for at least a thousand years, the monarchy was established after the tribes united against the Shadowlands invasion, under Adin, a result of the Battle for Deltora and led by the nations first king Adin from the Del tribe. The first letters in each of the seven tribes' talismans that were added to the Belt of Deltora, had named the country from the Land of the Dragons into Deltora. The nation is currently ruled by King Lief from his palace in Del, Deltora's capital. At his side is his royal consort and the current queen, Jasmine. Before the seven tribes of Deltora were united, Malverlain, who had been banished from Deltora's neighbouring island, Dorne, attempted to conquer the island. However, his plans were thwarted by the unification under Adin. History The Land of Dragons When the world was young, Deltora was known as the Land of Dragons. The land was one of the larger islands surrounded by fearsome beasts that dwelled within the deep blue. The people were terrorised by the sea monsters that ruled the seas and the dragons that were the masters of the sky. The people divided into seven tribes, kept to their own territory, warring often over the land's scarce resources. To the north of the Land of Dragons was what the people believed was their own island's twin, and was named The Twin. No matter how often they tried to reach that island, none were ever seen again. Fire, water, death and marriage For ages the sea remained unchanged, the people prisoners within their land. But none of them could see that deep below, blind, bloated monsters dug deep into the rock of the sea-bed. The tribe of the west, the Torans sensed that a big change was coming. Their leaders scattered fortune-telling stones and the stones meaning fire, water, death and marriage fell together often, but they did not know what to make of it. The dragons too sensed that there was a change, they could feel the land quiver and smelled it in the air. One beautiful still morning, the dragons knew it was time. In a glittering mass, they took to the air. There were thousands of them, glimmering with all the colours of the rainbow. So many that they blocked out the sun. There was a low sound from the north and the people saw the sea turn white. The sea monsters whipped the water into foam as they desperately tried to escape, but it was too late. With a great roar, the seabed in the north split and fire belched upwards, boiling the sea. The air was thick with steam and the island quaked. New hills formed, great cracks formed and hills were destroyed. Pale, slimy, dead things fell from the sky like rain. The sound was frightful. Thinking their world had come to an end, the people fell to the ground with their hands covering their ears. Those who were left alive saw that the northern coast was gone. Instead, a great barrier of mountain and rock had formed into one peak; an unbroken line from east to west. Only the dragons, who flew high in the sky, saw what laid beyond the mountains. They saw that the space between the Land of Dragons and the island to the north, Pirra. disappear as the cracked seabed collapsed on itself. The two islands collided and were sealed together by the mountains that had formed, the largest being Dread Mountain, which is in the lands northwestern corner and the new home of the Dread Gnomes. The two islands had become one, just as the Toran's fortune-telling stones had predicted. Millennia of gem division Out in each tribe, a gem was found a tribal talismans, from the Secret sea deep below, protected each tribe for thousands of years from invasion, famine and monster attacks. Deltorans tried to cross the mountains to reach Pirra, but it was as difficult as the sea once was, because the creatures that had survived the catastrophe, now lived in the border, plagued the barrier and the mountains themselves, were virtually unclimable. So the sailors tried to reach their neighbor by sea, only to be propelled by Pirra's pipe, so the tribes that lived on the coast, instead explored other parts of the world and eventually traded with other islands. Outlaws and criminals, were banished to the barrier mountains. During this long period of time, the Isle of the Dead became home to the Kobbs, the Forests of Silence grew, the Hive, that gave birth to the Shifting Sands and the Sand Beast was created, The Pirrans forced into the Pirran Caverns beneath Deltora's surface, Granous appeared in the Os Mine Hills, the Plains people started to domesticate Muddlets. Capra was destroyed by the Ruby Dragons, Broome was settled over the ruins of Capra by overseas migrants, Goral became the guardian of the Lilies of Life, the Grippers appeared in the middle of the Diamond territory and the Blood Lillys appeared at Blood Lily Island, near the western point of the Diamond Territory, Opal's dream of the Shadowlands Invasion in generations to come and the town of Hira, expanded from a town to a city. The Shadow Army The Shadow Lord's first attempt at taking over the Land of Dragons. Uniting the tribes Adin's journey to get the seven gems and join the tribes. The creation of the belt. Encountering the Jalis, listening to the Tenna Birdsong Tale about Opal the Dreamer who was Adin's ancestor. Receiving the Diamond. Adin attempted to meet with the Torans but was pushed away into the territory of the Dread Gnomes. They tried to take the belt away from him. They also tried to use him as bait. But since the Diamond causes misfortune on those who try to steal it, the leader is almost killed. Adin saves her and they listen to his tale. He gets the Emerald and was named The Archer of Azzure. Gaining the Lapis-Lazuli from the people of Mere in Rithmere. They wanted him to fight a sand beast and bring back it head but as luck would have it, a dragon comes down and kills the sand beast for him. Adin gets the head and the people give him their talisman. He returns to Del introducing himself as the Archer of Azzure. He almost gets the Topaz without any trouble but is recognised by old friends. He explains the reasons for his deceit and after making a passionate speech, is able to put the Topaz alongside the rest of the gems. He travels to Hira for the Opal. He meets the spirits of Opal's parents who were cursed to help him on his quest. Meeting the Ralad people and gaining the ruby. Trying to get the Amethyst is unsuccessful since the Torans prefer to keep to themselves and care little about what happens outside their marble walls. So Adin prepared for the battle with only the six tribes and gems. Battle for Deltora The battle takes place at Hira and they start taking out most of the Shadow Lord's armies lead by two humans. The Torans come when it seems bleak and give Adin the Amethyst. Adin places the last gem into the belt and the Shadow Lord and his armies are driven from the land. They realise that the gems spell a name and so the Land of Dragons is named Deltora. Adin is soon named king over the land, with his Toran love Zara becoming his queen; the Torans and other tribes pledge their allegiance to Adin and his heirs. Deltora's decline The Shadow Lord was not idle, and in the time of Adin's grandson Elstred he employed his spy Agra to slowly influence the king into wearing the Belt less and less often. How she got into Deltora in the first place and how she gained the monarchy's loyalty, is a mystery. Due to privileged living, Elstred would have been easily influenced had it not been for his brother Ballum, who spoke out against Agra's council more and more often. Agra eventually sabotaged one of Ballum's magic tricks and left Ballum scarred, prompting him to don a mask to hide his injuries. She then framed him for an attempt to poison the king, which prompted him to flee to the Deltoran wilds where he founded the Masked Ones. As a result, he was no longer present to speak against Agra or any of the other Chief advisors, who little by little persuaded the royal family to wear the Belt less and less until it was worn only on the day of a king or queen's ascension to the throne. In time, the Shadow Lord seeded the four corners of Deltora with the monstrous Four Sisters, creations intended to poison the land so that it produced less and less food for the people. To pave the way for this plan, he used his Ak-Baba to hunt the tribes of Deltoran dragons to the verge of extinction. Deltora's noted explorer, Doran the Dragonlover, managed to find one last member of each dragon tribe and persuaded them to enter an enchanted sleep from which they would eventually be awakened by the Belt of Deltora, only to learn of the Four Sisters' placement. He disappeared on his final journey to find the Four Sisters, and his map of their location was removed from The Deltora Annals by Drumm, the chief advisor of the time. Drumm would also secrete the Sister of the South within the palace of Del, which was still under construction, hiding it under a hideous altar in the chapel that was protested by the Ralad builders. As part of the same scheme that involved the Four Sisters, the Shadow Lord secured the loyalty of Hira's rat catchers, promising them power and immortality in exchange for their services. They soon began breeding rats rather than catching them, creating a plague that they soon persuaded the people had been brought about by their own wickedness. The rat catchers led the people across the River Broad and founded a new city called No Rats, or Noradz, where they became known as the Ra-Kacharz and enforced a strange and strict code of conduct. The people of Noradz would be put to work producing mass quantities of food that they would only eat a small amount of-the rest was transported to the palace in Del, where it and a magical illusion cast by the Shadow Lord kept the royal family in ignorance of the people's growing poverty. Hira, in the meantime, became known as the City of the Rats, with the rats increasing in number and feeding the monstrous Reeah, a serpent introduced to the city by the Shadow Lord for his own sinister purposes. Separation of gems By the time of King Alton Deltora was in the grip of the Shadow Lord and his servants in all but name, with people across the land suffering from poverty and other deprivations. The inhabitants of the palace in Del were bound by a code of conduct known as the Rule, and remained ignorant of what was going on outside the palace. The only semblance of contact the people had with their king or queen was when they signed prepared responses to complaints and requests sent to the palace by the citizens, which only the chief advisors ever saw. Eventually Prandine, Alton's chief advisor, ordered that The Deltora Annals be burned and replaced with a new history, secretly planning to keep the inhabitants of the palace from learning the lessons of the past. Fortunately, the Annals were saved in an act of heroism by palace librarian Josef, who burned old harvest records and animal bones to make it appear that he had carried out the heinous dead and taken his own life in the process before smuggling himself and the Annals out of the palace. As Alton's son Endon reached the age by which he was considered old enough to become king, Prandine poisoned Alton just as he had Alton's wife before him; Endon thus ascended to the throne. Jarred, Endon's closest friend, became concerned that the Belt of Deltora was not worn constantly as in times of old, and in seeking answers found The Belt of Deltora, which had been hidden in the palace library by Josef. Realising the peril that their land was in, Jarred found Endon and urged him to don the Belt and go out among the people, only to be framed by Prandine for an attempted assassination. Jarred was forced to flee, but left a message for Endon offering his help if he was ever needed; the pair thus grew up separately, with Jarred becoming a blacksmith at Adin's old forge and marrying Anna while Endon married Sharn, a woman of Toran descent. Endon began to see the truth behind Jarred's long-ago warnings when Min, his old nursemaid, was killed after overhearing a conversation between the Shadow Lord's minions and told Endon of it only to be dismissed. He thus sent Jarred a message that enabled him to penetrate the palace, and the reunited friends and Sharn made their way to the tower where the Belt had long been kept. Unfortunately, they were too late: Prandine had already broken the Belt and removed the seven gems, giving one to each of the seven Ak-Baba to scatter across Deltora, which allowed the Shadow Lord to invade and occupy Deltora in force. Sharn was able to trick and kill Prandine, after which she and her companions fled the palace and met up with Anna at the forge. Resolved that the Belt would one day be restored but knowing that it would only shine for Endon and Sharn's unborn child-Endon having lost the trust of the people-the friends resolved upon a strategy that involved Endon and Sharn assuming Jarred and Anna's identities at the forge while Jarred and Anna went into hiding, heading towards Tora. Quest to find the gems Sixteen years passed, during which Sharn gave birth to Lief and Anna gave birth to Jasmine after she and Jarred were refused aid from Tora and thus reversed their course to hide in the Forests of Silence. In the course of things, Endon and Sharn-under their assumed identities-had befriended Min's son, a former Del palace guard named Barda, who had fled the palace of Del after his mother's death, and enlisted him in their quest to restore the Belt. Through listening to tales from travellers they determined where each gem had been hidden; sadly, Endon was injured by a falling tree branch and left unable to travel, but convinced Barda to let Lief join him when the time came. The night of Lief's sixteenth birthday they revealed the plan-though not their true identities, which even Barda did not know-and Lief soon agreed to embark on the quest in his father's stead. Barda, having learned that Grey Guards would no longer approached the Forests of Silence, determined that they should journey in that direction first, rather than towards the Valley of the Lost as had been previously agreed. Barda and Lief made their way to the Forests, where they were captured by the Wenn but saved after making an unlikely ally in Jasmine, who had been left alone in the Forests after her parents were abducted by Grey Guards years previously. With her help they were able to retrieve the Topaz from Gorl, the phantom of a Jalis knight who had come to the Forests before Adin's time in search of the Lilies of Life. Jasmine soon joined their quest, which took them to the territory of the sorceress Thaegan and the Lake of Tears, where they managed to recover the Ruby and destroy Thaegan, undoing all her evil magic. The next leg of the journey took the companions to Noradz and then to Hira, where they destroyed Reeah and obtained the Opal. On their journey to the Shifting Sands, the group encountered Doom, leader of the Resistance against the Shadow Lord's tyranny, who offered them membership in his group but was turned down. The companions managed to recover the Lapis Lazuli from the Sands despite facing the monstrous Hive, and befriended the Kin on their way to Dread Mountain. There they managed to liberate the Dread Gnomes from the tyranny of Gellick the Ooze Toad and recovered the Emerald, as well as cutting the Shadow Lord's forces off from Gellick's poison that they employed in their Blister weapons. Along the way to the Maze of the Beast they once again encountered Doom and his young ally Dain, who joined the companions for a time before being captured by Pirates. They were reunited with him after recovering the Amethyst from the Glus' maze, and then came to the city of Tora only to find it empty in consequence of its people breaking their vow to Adin's family. Dain rejoined Doom, and the companions travelled to the Valley of the Lost where they won the Diamond and freed both the Torans imprisoned there and their former captor, Fardeep, from the Shadow Lord's evil. The Shadow Lord's defeat Joined by the Torans and the arriving Doom and Dain, the companions set about trying to find Endon and Sharn's child, unaware as they were of Lief's true identity and those of his parents. Believing that the key lay in reuniting the seven tribes and having then renew their allegiance to Adin's heir, the group sent messages to their various allies across Deltora and then travelled to Withick Mire, a Resistance stronghold. Along the way they came across evidence indicating that the royal family had perished, but this was later refuted by Barda when his knowledge of palace procedure allowed him to spot errors in the deception. The summoned allies soon gathered at Withick Mire, where the Belt seemingly indicated Dain as Endon's heir; the gathering was then attacked by Thaegan's last surviving child Ichabod, who seemingly abducted Dain and carried him to Del. Two days before the end of tyranny, the people of Noradz are marched to the Shadowlands as slaves. The allies began making their own way to Del, only to be betrayed by Dain, who proved to be an Ol planted by the Shadow Lord as his ultimate weapon against an attempt to restore the Belt of Deltora. In the ensuing struggle, everyone but Lief, Jasmine, Barda, and Doom were captured, and Doom was injured in such a way that the amnesia he had been suffering from began to lift. This led the companions to belief that he was Endon and that Jasmine was his heir; everyone but Lief was then captured by Grey Guards after the Belt failed to shine. Lief determined from his studies that the gems had to be in their proper order-spelling out the name Deltora-in order for the Belt to function properly, and was then revealed as the true heir when he donned the Belt in its proper form. Endon dies from a poisoned wound, leaving Lief to rule over Deltora as king with his friends and allies by his side. Quest to find the Pirran Pipe In the wake of the Shadow Lord's exile, it is discovered that thousands of Deltorans have been taken to the Shadowlands as prisoners, and the people continue to cry for a rescue attempt. Lief, determined to secure Deltora's future and not to invade the Shadowlands without a magic to counter the Shadow Lord's, finds an heir in Marilen and has her wear the Belt while he dons a copy. He then becomes determined to find the legendary Pirran Pipe, the one magic the Shadow Lord ever feared in his current territory, and gains information from The Deltora Annals after Josef emerges from hiding with help from Jasmine. Jasmine, who had been deceived by the Shadow Lord, sought a secret underground route to the Shadowlands, and in following her Lief and Barda came across the Pirran Islands where the people of Pirra, owners of the Pirran Pipe, had fled after their land was taken by the Shadow Lord. While the companions travelled through the Pirran Caverns in search of the pieces of the pipe, the residents of Del dealt with the Shadow Lord's schemes, including the ghastly Conversion Project which turned captured Deltorans into helpless slaves of their dark master. Fortunately, this fiendish plan was prevented from coming to fruition by the Pirran Pipe, which destroyed the project's worms before they could infect the many Deltorans imprisoned in the Shadowlands. The Pipe's magic also allowed the Pirrans to rescue the companions and other Deltorans from the Shadowlands, and they then transported them to Del. At this point Lief's secrecy was revealed, and the companions learned that other heirs of Adin could be found throughout the land, meaning that there would always be another to wear the Belt if anything befell Lief. Awakening of dragons The companions eventually learned of the Shadow Lord's plot involving the Four Sisters, and set out to stop it by finding and awakening the last seven dragons of Deltora. Having found the sleeping Fidelis on their journey into the underground, they awakened him only to learn that the first Sister they had located was outside of its territory. The companions thus continued their journey to Dragon's Nest, where they destroyed the Sister and its guardian-the Capricon Rolf in the form of a mutated Ruby dragon-with the aid of Joyeu. They would then discover that the next Sister was located in Shadowgate, and along the way the companions awakened Fortuna and Honora; the latter would aid Lief in destroying the Sister after he defeated the Masked One. Travelling towards the Isle of the Dead and the next Sister, the companions awakened Veritas and came across the skeleton of Forta on Blood Lily Island. Fortunately, they also found an egg that hatched into her daughter, and Veritas was able to aid them against the vicious Kobb before destroying the Sister of the West. The companions then learned that the final Sister was located in Del itself, and travelled there to find the city under siege. However, they were able to penetrate the machinations of guardian Paff, and Paff's creature was destroyed when the Sister lost power and was then destroyed by Lief and Fidelis. Unfortunately, the Shadow Lord's plan had one final twist: the destruction of all Four Sisters unleashed a Grey tide from beneath Hira that threatened to cover the entire land and smother all life, which presumably was designed to physically make Deltora part of the Shadowlands. Lief and his companions flew to Hira on Fidelis' back, only to be challenged by an awakened Hopian. However, the dragons and Fidelis' riders were soon forced to deal with the arrival of the Ak-Baba, and Lief summoned the other dragons from across the land to aid them. All but three of the Ak-Baba were destroyed and driven off, allowing the dragons to destroy the Grey tide. Lief would continue to reign as Deltora's king, with Jasmine becoming his queen and the pair remaining ever vigilant against the surviving threat of the Shadow Lord. Banishment of the Shadow Lord Geography The island of Deltora lies in the Ocean of the South, and is bordered by the Silver Sea to the west and the Sea of Serpents to the east. Deltora has a diverse landscape, differing from territory to territory. Barrier Mountains When Pirra joined with Deltora, it created the Barrier Mountains. The Barrier Mountains are a line of jagged mountains, going from the east all the way to the west of Deltora. The largest mountain of the Barrier Mountains is Dread Mountain. Rivers Three main rivers flow through Deltora: River Tor, River Broad and River Del. River Broad joins with River Tor at a place called Where Waters Meet. Eventually though, they all flow out to the sea. River Tor River Tor starts near Dread Mountain, flows through Emerald and Amethyst territories, before joining with River Broad and flowing out to sea. River Broad River Broad starts in the Barrier Mountains in Opal territory, flows through Lapis Lazuli territory and meets River Tor. River Del River Del starts in the Os-Mine Hills and flows down the west side of Del before flowing out into the sea. Roads There are many roads and paths in Deltora. They usually lead to main cities and towns and are sometimes dangerous due to bandits. The Coast Road Great North Road The Golden Way The Mountain Road The Opal Highway Rithmere Road Deltora Way Gems When the Land of the Dragons collided with Pirra, and the Barrier Mountains were formed, villages and communities in the land were ruined. Before everyone went into deep disappear, the land gave each territory a gift. Each of the seven tribes received a powerful talisman from the inners of the earth. Topaz The Topaz belongs to the Del tribe (by extension, Topaz territory). It is written, in The Belt of Deltora, that, ''"The topaz is a powerful gem, and its strength increases as the moon grows full. The topaz protects its wearer from the terrors of the night. It has the power to open doors into the spirit world. It strengthens and clears the mind." When the gems were scattered, during the Shadow Lord's invasion, the Forests of Silence homed the topaz. There it waited for Lief, Barda and Jasmine to claim it. Ruby The Ruby belongs to the Ralad tribe (by extension, Ruby territory). It is written, in ''The Belt of Deltora, that, "The great ruby, symbol of happiness, red as blood, grows pale in the presence of evil, or when misfortune threatens its wearer. It wards off evil spirits, and is an antidote to snake venom." An Ak-Baba eventually sent it to the Lake of Tears when the Belt of Deltora was destroyed. The Ruby was guarded by Soldeen and Sorceress Thaegan. Opal The Opal belongs to the Plains tribe (by extension, Opal territory). The Belt of Deltora reads that, "The opal, symbol of hope, shines with all colours of the rainbow. It has the power to give glimpses of the future, and to aid those with weak sight. The opal has a special relationship with the lapis lazuli, the heavenly stone, a powerful talisman." On Lief's quest to reclaim the lost gems, they found the opal attached to the crown of Reeah, a giant snake, ruler of Hira and the guardian of the gem. Lapis Lazuli The Lapis Lazuli, also known as the Heavenly stone, is the tressure of the Mere tribe (by extension, Lapis Lazuli territory). The Belt of Deltora states that, "The Lapis Lazuli, the heavenly stone, is the symbol of good fortune, brings good luck and has an affiliation with the Opal." Upon entering the Shifting Sands, Lief, Barda and Jasmine fought Terreocti and were eventually able infiltrate the Hive in order to receive the stolen gem. Emerald The Emerald belongs to the Dread Gnomes (by extension, Emerald territory). The Belt of Deltora reads that, "The emerald, symbol of honour, dulls in the presence of evil, and when a vow is broken. It is a remedy for sores and ulcers, and an antidote to poison." Gellick became the guardian of the emerald when it was removed from the Belt. Even though this is the tribe's talisman, smaller emeralds still have lesser powers (For example, people in Del were cured of the Toran Plague when emeralds were held to their hearts). Gla-Thon, said that gems are only shadows of the main seven. Amethyst The Amethyst belongs to the Toran tribe (by extension, Amethyst territory). The Belt of Deltora reads that, "The great amethyst, symbol of truth, calms and soothes. It changes colour in the presence of illness, loses colour near poisened food or drink, and guides the wearer towards sincerity, security, and peace of mind." It was guarded by the Glus, in the Maze of the Beast. Diamond The Diamond belongs to the Jalis tribe (by extension, Diamond territory). The Belt of Deltora says that "The diamond, symbol of innocence, purity, and strength. Diamonds give courage and strength, protection from pestilence and helps the cause of true love. But take heed of this warning: Diamonds gained by treachery or violence, or desired out of envy or greed, are ill omens, and bring bad fortune. Great evil comes upon those who gain them without honour." During Endon's reign, an Ak-Baba took the Diamond to the Valley of the Lost where it was to be guarded by the Guardian. This was the final gem that Lief reclaimed on his quest. Tribes Deltora is divided into seven tribes: Jalis, Dread Gnome, Mere, Del, Plains, Ralad and Toran. Jalis Dread Gnome Mere Del Plains Ralad Tora Territories Flora Boolong tree Boolong trees are native to Dread Mountain. They have cones which allow the Kin to reproduce once eaten. Coffin Tree Purple moss Lilies of Life The Lilies of Life are located in the centre of the Forests of Silence. Before the rule of Adin, three brothers, Greddock, Gudden and Gorl, set out of a journey in order to find the precious lilies. Their quest was successful, for when they arrived, the Lilies were found. However, Jealousness took over Gorl, the oldest knight, and so he fought his two younger brothers. Gorl devoted his life to protect the lilies. He even planted vines around them which created a thick wall. These vines fed on any opponent that entered Gorl's realm. When Lief and Barda came to the forrests in search of one of the gems, Gorl fought hard for he thought they were seeking his Lilies. Gripper Grippers are hostile creatures which grow in the Diamond territory. To any traveller, who is unaware of their exisntance, Grippers would just look like any other plant life. Traveller's Weed Sweetplum Fauna Dragons Kin Muddlets Wenn Wennbar Granous Royal family Deltora has been ruled for a thousand years by the royal family. Starting from Adin, the first king, who united the kingdom, his descendants have ruled ever since. Appearances Trivia *Deltora is to the east of Dorne, separated by the Sea of Serpents. *To the west of Deltora lies an unknown island (known as Maris to the people of Deltora), home to the people of Rin, the Travellers and the mer-like Maris folk. The Land of the Zebak is also to the west, and located very close to Maris. References See also *Dorne Category:Deltora Category:Locations Category:Islands Category:Lands Category:Ocean of the South Category:Articles in need of improvement